1. Field of the Invention
A material spreader assembly for broadcast spreading of particulate material from a vehicle having a trailer wiring connector for supplying electrical current.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various trailer hitch mounted material spreaders for the broadcast spreading of a free flowing material such as salt, sand, seed, fertilizers, and de-icers are well known in the art. An example of such a material spreader is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/444,176 to Gamble II et al.
Gamble II et al. disclose a material spreader assembly for broadcast spreading of particulate material from a vehicle. The material spreader assembly disclosed by Gamble II et al. includes a frame connected to a coupler such that the material spreader assembly may be supported by the vehicle. The frame supports a hopper for storing particulate material and a spreader that receives and disperses the particulate material from the hopper. Gamble II et al. further disclose powering the spreader by electrical current.
It is also well known that electrical current can be provided to power the electrical components of a trailer through use of a wiring harness. These wiring harnesses feature a plug interface that connects to the trailer wiring connector equipped on many vehicles. It is further known that the trailer wiring connector is only capable of supplying electrical current below a predetermined level. When the trailer wiring connector is subject to a transient electrical current draw spike exceeding the predetermined level an associated voltage drop is produced. It is known that such a transient current draw spike is created by the typical start-up of the spreader and that the corresponding voltage drop will decrease the voltage supplied to the spreader to a level below that which is required for spreader start-up. Accordingly, the material spreader assemblies known in the art cannot be powered by electrical current supplied from a vehicle's trailer wiring connector because the trailer wiring connector cannot support the transient current draw needs of the typical material spreader assembly.